


cloak and daggers murder the truth

by adverbialstarlight



Series: cloak and daggers murder the truth [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Assassins & Hitmen, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Ballroom Dancing, Costume Parties & Masquerades, First Meetings, M/M, Princes & Princesses, this is like half what i wanted out of throne of glass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-05 06:56:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16805680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adverbialstarlight/pseuds/adverbialstarlight
Summary: As a well known member of the Marmora Assassin's Guild, Keith is hired by a petty noble to kill Her Royal Highness, Princess Allura of Altea at her father's Winter Solstice masquerade ball. His main focus should be on completing his mission, but when he arrives that the ball he has better ideas on how to spend the night—namely, dancing with a certain handsome stranger with a nice smile and a mask of gold.





	cloak and daggers murder the truth

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the [VLD Tropefest](https://vldtropesfest.tumblr.com/), the trope being royal/assassin au. I had this as a big fancy long story but didn't have time so if you want to read the rest in................. april bc im doing a whole novel style sequel hence why this is in a series lol. Anyway, enjoy! Title from House of Wolves by Bring Me the Horizon.
> 
> [for once betaed, thank you [Silva](https://silvia-moon.tumblr.com/) for making me not look like a complete idiot here again]

Keith firmly believed that he had a good set of morals, a sound book of rules for himself. Well, sound as they could be for an assassin. And that was out of pure necessity, he held no loyalty to the Galran nobles, only to the small pouches of golden coins that came with doing their work.

The thing about rich people was that they were idle and nosy. A large amount of Keith’s jobs were to steal this from that person, find out who was doing what regarding some rumored plot, and to eliminate some person in high power. At first it had bothered him. Now there was only the familiar numbness of apathy and near boredom. What did this man’s life mean to him anyway, everyone knew what sorts of…compensations Sendak required when someone didn’t make it back in before the iron gates around Altea sealed shut for the night.

But this job—the one he’d just received from a prince of the Galran nobility himself, Lotor—was different than the petty political moves that Keith usually worked on. His target was not another random noble gaining too much power, no stable boy having an affair with someone’s wife or the battle plans of the Royal Guard, but rather the Princess Allura herself. From what Keith gathered, Lotor had been attempting to court the princess and was scornfully denied quickly after. And so now, he wished her to be killed by the most skilled assassin in the empire. And not in a quiet, small way like a venomous scorpion or poison laced in her evening tea, Lotor wanted the full public spectacle.

It would not be an easy task, especially with the amount of security surrounding the princess, heightened after the attempted assassination of her father, but hell if it was a lucrative offer. Most of the time jobs paid pretty well for Keith—he was notoriously titled as one of the best, after all—but this was beyond the usual. If Lotor were not such a wealthy man, Keith would’ve thought he was being tricked. But they both knew that Lotor was capable of delivering, and with that much money Keith might not have to be an assassin for the rest of his life.

Perhaps money should not have been one of the sole motivators, it wasn’t like Keith even had any sort of personal vendetta against the princess, but in a world such as this there was not much else to do.

However, infiltrating the castle was not the hardest part of the mission as Keith had expected. Rather it was a young man with mocha hair and teasing eyes that peered curiously through a deep cobalt mask adorned with swirls of silver and gold. And somehow, it was so much worse than getting caught by a royal guard and getting burned at the stake in front of the entire village.

There were some among the building who liked to make things meticulously planned to the moment, structured and neat. They would have created an extravagant plot on how to infiltrate the palace, to find Princess Allura alone. They’d have something elaborate and nonsensical completely worked out, only to realize the simple answer had been in front of them the entire time. Luckily, Keith was never one for complex scheming, not when there was a perfect opportunity sitting on his desk in his room at the guild’s base in a wax sealed envelope.

As someone who was technically very high ranking—all thanks to the guild’s cover business of artisan blade assembly for the Galra family— Keith was also technically allowed to attend most of these frivolous parties thrown by the royal family, invited even. He would be able to stroll right in without suspicion or hassle with one of those satin wrapped invites, and so that’s exactly what he did.

It was the winter solstice, and so naturally the royal family was holding a ball. This was not just any usual ball, though, it was a masquerade. When he had seen that, Keith had nearly sighed in relief right there in front of his leader. The stars looked to be on Keith’s side for once. Not only did it mean less preparation work—there was going to be a mask over his face, making it unnecessary to think of a clever disguise—but the element of unrecognizability the mask also brought would make it even easier to slip away to track down the princess and complete the mission.

And if he succeeded, Keith would be walking away with enough money to be done for good. Enough to pay off his debts to the guild and book a ship as far from this wretched family and their operations as he could get. That was the ultimate goal. He did not wish for fine leather boots and trinkets of gold like most of the men in the guild. Instead he saved his coin to save up for the freedom that was taken from him nearly ten years before. Something that would come very soon if he succeeded. He was so close, there was simply no way that he could fail. And so he would not.

Keith adjusted the cuffs of his suit once more as he walked up to the castle. The shadows danced as the people glided through the bright room, all false laughter and emotionless eyes behind opulent masks. Something about it all was unnerving–somehow even more so than sharing a living space with a few hundred deadly assassins.

The politics of the Royal Court were far more dangerous than the knife of any assassin though, and claiming the life of one of those courtiers meant power. All credit would go to Lotor, Keith assumed with only some bitterness. He was not fond of killing, especially over something so petty as unrequited feelings, but considering he did not even get assistance or up front payment for this job was irking.

He slipped into the doors behind a noble couple that seemed to already be tipsy, receiving a nod from one of the guards as he went. Too much was going on for anyone to notice that he didn’t arrive in one of the elaborate carriages circling slowly around the front of the palace, to notice the slight bulge in his scarlet dress coat that outlined his dagger. It was an hour or so after the official beginning, the time of all the guests arriving. No one had the time to pay much attention to one odd guest in the crowd of many.

The atmosphere inside the castle was a stark contrast from the outside, from the courtyard and the village down below.

There was a heavy weight that settled over everyone whenever there was snow, the merchant's cries became more desperate and the bones became more prominent when Lady Plaxum lifted her hand to pluck her lyre. As much as the royal family tried to help their people, everything always seemed to run out in the winter months.

To Keith, winter meant dreariness and fading. To the royal court of Altea, it meant celebration.

The ballroom was lit with colors and music and laughter, of glittering ball gowns and flutes of champagne held precariously between fingertips. Keith was barely spared a glance by most of the people as he came to the top of the golden stairs.

Compared to most of the lords and ladies in here, Keith was dressed rather simple. His mask had none of the precious stones that many embedded into their own, only bearing a few abstract swirls of silver around the eyes. Which was why he nearly stopped breathing when he noticed a man start to weave his way over to Keith, his own mask glinting under the bright chandeliers.

He tensed for a moment. Had he been caught? Did the castle security somehow find out about this mission? The man's navy tunic and golden bird shaped mask was still simpler than most others’, but it still had the fine detail of a nobleman's, and the sword at his side was clearly no ornament to show off that wealth. He must have been a royal guard, the silver epaulets on his shoulders suggested that he might even be a general.

But instead of grabbing Keith and pinning his arms to his back, announcing him as a traitor to the crown, the man instead held out his own hand with a shy but confident grin. Keith stared at it.

“Hello good sir, may I have this dance?” he asked politely.

This was not a part of the plan. Keith had never been prepared for what to do when a handsome, dangerous stranger came up and asked him to dance on assassination missions. He felt like a new Blade all over again, anxious and frantic with Kolivan there to smooth things over if it took an unexpected turn.

Not entirely trusting himself to speak, Keith nodded, letting the stranger pull him gently towards the center and spin him into position.

Keith was not one to get flustered over cute guys that he just met, especially when it was some noble boy at a ball in the Altean castle, cute noble boys who might have a dangerous agenda. It was ironic, considering Keith himself had come to kill the princess, but one could never be too careful. Because though the face and personality behind this mask could turn out to be atrocious, Keith found himself blush as he was spun around the room.

The stranger leaned in close, breath tickling the skin over Keith’s ear as he said, “I don’t think I’ve seen you around these things before, are you a visitor?”

Keith shrugged, tilting his head back to reply smoothly, “Aye, I am…a member of a rather well known caravan of weapon merchants, if you will. We are on our way to the kingdom of Olkari but my master has a bit of a party streak. It was essential to him that we come this evening. Do you frequent these events?”

His partner’s lips quirked upwards and he shrugged. “Perhaps I am. I’m pretty well acquainted with the royal family and the most beautiful people across the land frequent these things you know. They are gracious enough to allow me at these balls, they have allowed me to meet  _ you _ .”

_ You must remain focused on your assignment _ , Keith scolded himself as he was dipped, cheeks flaming. He was grateful for the mask, letting everyone in this room, everyone from Marmora that was positioned for backup, know how flustered he had become now—and over a boy that he had only just met, no less—would be too much for his pride.

But he would not be an awkward teenager for this entire ball. Soon this boy would not be looking at him with such an expression, one of curiosity and interest, and instead horror as he stood over the lifeless body of his princess.

Keith tried to suppress his grimace at the thought. He had killed before, it was how he survived, but he never enjoyed it. He did not enjoy the cries of grief as families discovered their loved ones were gone, the hot blood and the wide eyed looks of terror in the victims’ eyes before they dulled out. And Princess Allura was no venal duke. She was only a year or so older than Keith and cared for the kingdom, was trying to make a difference. Could Keith really take her life simply out of the spite and anger of her ex-lover?

The music paused, breaking him from his thoughts. Keith and his partner stepped away from each other, turning to face the pedestal where the king was now ascending. King Alfor’s hair was completely white, as was his daughter’s. Keith could see the crow’s feet around his eyes as he beamed at Princess Allura and then the court before him. He wore a navy blue cloak over his pristine armor, a flute of champagne in hand already. Their masks were a matching gold and teal, Allura’s the shape of an owl, her father’s a lion.

“I thank you all for coming here tonight,” Alfor boomed, silencing the rest of the crowd. “It is an honor for my daughter and I to host you here as we celebrate the solstice.”

Allura raised her own glass in salute to the people. “May the stars be with you tonight!” she cheered.

Everyone echoed the princess’s words, those not on the dancefloor holding up their own glasses and applauding. 

The music began again and the two royals stepped down, moving into the crowd to socialize with their guests. Keith’s partner let go of his hands, tilting his head in the direction of the food.

“Would you like to get a drink, perhaps?” he asked.

Keith probably would have said no, drinking on the job was more Regris’ thing than his but tonight was already going rather strangely so why not? He nodded and allowed himself to be led through the crowd again to the servers carrying trays of champagne.

Because the gods seemed set on playing with him tonight, Keith was brought right up to one of the three other Marmoran agents that were observing undercover tonight. The man whose name Keith had long forgotten gave him a subtle nod as he handed Keith a glass.

Luckily his companion didn’t seem to notice it, instead focusing on jumping up in the air, waving his arm and trying to catch the attention of someone. It was honestly a bit ridiculous, considering his height. Someone could probably spot him on the other side of the goddamn ballroom, but Keith didn’t choose to point that out now, especially when he realized  _ who  _ he was trying to get the attention of.

“Allura! Lulu! Princess Popular! Allura my lovely sun, stars, and future queen! Over here!” he shouted.

Most of the people barely spared the boy a glance, as if him shouting casually at the princess from ten feet away was a normal occurrence. Given the affectionate eye roll the princess shot him as she ended a small conversation with a blonde girl in a pink and blue dress, it probably was.

Keith, however, gaped at him. This boy knew the princess very personally it seemed—and was inviting her over right now. The universe was cruel like that, and Keith would be forced into talking to the princess right before he was supposed to assassinate her. To exchange pleasantries and hear about all the ambitions she held but would never reach because of Keith. He tried to smile as Allura approached them, lowering his head into an awkward bow.

“Princess Allura,” Keith muttered. The respect in his voice was not false—Keith did admire her greatly, truth be told. It made his reason for being here so much worse.

His companion skipped over the formalites, tackling the princess into a bear hug. “Oh my god, ‘Llura you look stunning tonight, holy hell. Romelle really pulled through there, I think you’ve found yourself a keeper.”

Keith vaguely recalled hearing rumors a few days ago that Allura was courting one of the royal seamstresses. It seemed that they were true from the way that the princess blushed furiously and elbowed her friend.

“Lance, it is not like that, really. She’s just…” Allura trailed off, her eyes flitting back to the girl she’d just left. Romelle, obviously. The look she gave her was so fond, another stab of guilt weighed down Keith's chest.

She cleared her throat abruptly, turning to back to Lance. “Anyways, how about you introduce your friend here. I saw you two dancing earlier, I do not recall meeting him.” She turned then to Keith, who was startled when he realized that he was now the center of their attention. “Hello, I am Princess Allura. Thank you very much for coming tonight, and for keeping my friend company tonight. When he is not the focus of attention he tends to become rather needy.”

Lance elbowed her with a glare, though there was no real heat behind it. The gnawing hole widened, and Keith gritted his teeth and tried to avoid it. The universe seemed to just be stacking more and more reasons as to why he should  _ not  _ carry out this attack.

He did not just know the royal family, Lance was clearly one of the closest friends of the princess as well. The opinion of a near stranger should not have mattered to Keith, especially since he was never going to see him again, but there was another twinge of guilt when he realized  _ just  _ how much Lance would loathe him later tonight.

“I do not, if anyone you're the needy one. I'm but a simple common boy,  _ princess _ ,” Lance said, flicking at one of the ornaments in Allura's hair.

“A simple boy,” Allura scoffed. “One of the greatest diplomats in the land and heir of one of the greatest southern kingdoms, yes that is so very simple, cousin. Or should I say,  _ Prince Lance of Earthia _ .” The title was said with mockery, and Lance scowled at it. Keith kept his own face blank but internally cursed himself. Earthia was a powerful neighboring kingdom of Altea and strong ally, of course the crown prince was here tonight.

Allura ducked away from Lance's attempt to poke at a coil of her hair again and rolled her eyes, turning back to Keith.

His shoulders were tensed, ready for her to somehow read what he was planning to do, to call him out in front of the entire court.

Instead she smiled and said, “We are to eat soon, would you like to join us Sir…”

“Keith,” he supplied, fixing the mask over his eyes. He had an alias he usually used on missions, there was no reason to give his real name. But despite only having met Allura and Lance, lying to them even more felt unsettling, and not just because they were royalty. “I am honored, Princess, thank you kindly. But I would hate to inconvenience you like so, it's probably time I must leave anyway.”

The assassin in him knew that he should've said yes. It would've been easy to kill her sitting there only a foot away. But there was still a sharp, nauseating pain in his chest when he thought of killing the princess. She was kind, the sole heir of the kingdom, and had the potential to become the greatest queen that Altea had ever seen.

Beside Allura, Lance frowned, unable to hide his disappointment. “Oh. Well, I hope to see you again, Sir Keith. It has been an honor to meet you tonight,” he said with a small smile that sent Keith's chest fluttering. With it was an ache though, one that knew he could never see him again, that were he to find out that Lance would not be looking at him like that. “Perhaps you'll join me for one last dance though?”

Keith nodded and took Lance's hand again. “Thank you kindly for your hospitality, Princess,” he told Allura. “It's been a privilege to meet you, though I must ask of you one thing.” He leaned towards her and said quietly, “Please remain close to your guards tonight, some might think tonight is a good one for a plot on your life.” 

With that, Keith bowed and let Lance sweep him back to the dance floor. He had made his decision, he would risk his reputation among the guild. Perhaps one of his fellow assassins might take her out tonight, but Keith would not allow it to be him.

“Where might I find you again?” Lance asked as he intertwined their fingers and set a hand in Keith's waist.

He shrugged, not meeting Lance's eyes as the next song began. “Around. I am not sure you would want to though, if you knew what I did though. Trade is unfortunately not my sole position, though even that is rather lowly. It is not an easy job and I fear that you would dislike me for it. Perhaps we will meet again, and if so I hope it is under better circumstances.”

Lance shook his head. “Nonsense. Though, I also hope that we meet again. I would like to get to know you, Keith—to perhaps see what you look like beneath this mask and know your soul, if you allow it.”

Keith glanced away, blushing. “Probably not. I appreciate the offer though, I also wish I were able to get to know your soul.” He glanced over to the grand clock outside the large windows. It was nearly eleven thirty now, the planned time for Allura's assassination. Keith could not be there to witness it. He drew back, taking Lance's hands into his before finally meeting his eyes fully. “I must go now, may the stars be with you, Prince Lance. It was an honor.”

He leaned over, kissing Lance's cheek, and broke away into the crowd without turning to listen to whatever Lance was trying to say.

As Keith crossed over the castle grounds, the screaming began. He squeezed his eyes closed and stepped back into the shadows, bright eyes behind a gold mask yet to leave his mind still.

**Author's Note:**

> (warning I'm about to write a novel about writing this so if you don't want to I'll say right here is my [tumblr](https://adverbialstarlight.tumblr.com), [twitter](https://twitter.com/adverbialnouns), and have a nice day/night/whatever leave a comment/kudos/click on this to make me cry and now here's me blabbing about this story)
> 
> thank you so much for reading, I hope you liked it! royal AUs and anything that resembles books I love (in this case, throne of glass which I also write fics for) are the best to write and I hope that you liked the concept as much as I do. the original premise sarah j. maas had for tog was cinderella goes to the ball to kill the prince, and though I love the way it turned out instead I still loved the idea and so this au was born and im going to drop like 80k in a few months as continuation so stay posted if ya want thanks


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